'In for shock' - Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney warned they've 'got to be much cleverer' with Wrexham transfers if Championship promotion bid is successful

The Red Dragons were able to outspend their rivals when blazing a trail through the National League and League Two. They have remained fiercely competitive in the third tier of English football, with transfer records being broken while chasing down back-to-back-to-back promotions.

Reynolds and McElhenney have helped to finance the most ambitious of projects, but even the riches at their disposal will be dwarfed when taking further steps up the EFL ladder. Additional investment will be required in order to reach the Premier League Promised Land.

More shrewd business will also be needed at Championship level, with there some big sides and deep pockets in that division, with Wrexham being warned that they are going to have to tinker with the recruitment model that has carried them to this point.

EFL expert Ryan Dilks has told the Second Tier podcast: “I think Wrexham will be in for a shock because they found League One and Two to be a breeze really. But I don’t think signing over-the-hill players for large amounts of money will work anywhere near as well in the Championship.

“I’m sure they’ll be able to say to some big names, yeah we’ll give you loads of money and you can feature in our documentary, but you’ve got to be much more cleverer with your recruitment than that because they’re coming into a league were it’s not just one or two clubs with big budgets, it’s most of them. So I think they’ll definitely struggle initially, particularly with Phil Parkinson as manager.”

Dilks has suggested that Wrexham need a “bigger name” in the dugout if they are to remain on an upward trajectory – despite Parkinson taking in over 200 games at the helm – and it remains to be seen what the short-term future will bring in North Wales as Hollywood co-owners mull over their options.